


Allô, Papa?

by little0bird



Series: When Jack's Heart Stopped [6]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, Roadie, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 10:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18776101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little0bird/pseuds/little0bird
Summary: As always with the Zimmermann boys, if they're speaking French to one another I use the same conventions as Ngozi and bracket the text.





	Allô, Papa?

**Author's Note:**

> As always with the Zimmermann boys, if they're speaking French to one another I use the same conventions as Ngozi and bracket the text.

Jack stared at the screen of his phone.  It was real. Suddenly, deeply, what-the-deep-fried-hell-are-we-doing real.

 

'You okay?' Thirdy asked.

 

Jack's head jerked up.  'Yeah. Why?'

 

'You look like you've seen a ghost.'  Thirdy nodded toward the phone clutched in Jack's hand.  'Bad news from home?'

 

Jack shook his head.  'No…'

 

The elevator dinged softly and the doors parted.  Thirdy walked out of the elevator, Jack trailing behind.  Thirdy paused outside his hotel room. 'You know you can talk to me.  Or Marty. Hell, even Guy. Snowy, too for that matter. We all know what it's like to leave your spouse behind on a roadie.  I can get Marty to ask Gabby to look in on Bitty.'

 

Jack glanced down at his phone.  'That would probably be a good idea.'

 

Thirdy tapped his key card against the door.  'Is everything okay at home? Really?'

 

Jack shook himself.  'Yeah. Just thinking about the game.'

 

Thirdy frowned.  'Don't think too much.  It's gonna be a long week.  Get some rest, all right?'

 

'Yeah.  Night.' Jack continued down the hallway until he came to his own room.  He dropped his bag and tugged off his tie, tossing it to the foot of the bed.  It was already late on the west coast, and Jack was tired, but he needed to make a phone call before he could fall into the cold, empty bed.   _God, I hate roadies sometimes…_  He dropped into an armchair and stretched his feet out in front of him.  His thumb swiped through his contacts until he saw the name of the one person he wanted to talk to more than anyone else.  There was a good chance he was still awake, even though it was one in the morning on the east coast. Jack tapped the number and waited.

 

' _Allô_?'

 

'Papa?'

 

Bob sat up.  'Jack?'

 

<<'Can you talk?'>>

 

Bob swung his feet to the floor.  <<'Just a moment. I don't want to wake your mother.'>>

 

'Wha' iss it?' Alicia murmured.

 

'Nothing, _chérie_.  Go back to sleep.'  Bob leaned over and brushed a kiss over her sleep-flushed cheek.  He drew the duvet over her shoulder and left the bedroom, settling on the cushy sofa in the family room and draped a blanket over his lap.  'So? What's going on?'

 

Jack gulped.  <<'Papa… it's a baby.'>>

 

<<'What?'>>

 

<<'It's a baby…'>> Jack repeated.  

 

<<'What were you expecting?  An alien?'>> Bob sounded amused.

 

<<'Amy had an ultrasound today, and Bits texted a photo.>>  He rubbed his hand over his face. <<'It has ten fingers and toes.  And Bits said it had hiccups during the scan.'>> Jack let his head rest against the back of the chair.  <<'Was it hard for you to go on a roadie when I was a baby?'>>

 

Bob's lips pursed, and he stared at the ceiling.  ' _Ouias._ Always.  <<Anything on the west coast was difficult.  By the time we were off the ice and in our hotel, it was way past your bedtime.  I missed a lot. Like your first steps. But coming home and seeing your face light up made up for it.>>  He rearranged the blanket. 'Your mother and I have been talking. We thought we could go stay with Bitty while you're away on longer roadies.  Help out. Give him a chance to scrub off the spit-up. Let Alicia spoil the baby.'

 

'Only Mom?' Jack asked skeptically.  He knew for a fact that Bob had already bought a miniature, infant-sized version of Jack's Falconers jersey.

 

<<'I might do a little myself,'>> Bob admitted with a laugh.

 

'Bits would like that a lot.  More people to bake for.'

 

<<'I won't say it will be easy, but you can talk more often than I was able to.  You can text. Send pictures and videos.'>> Bob yawned. <<'There are boys on your team with children, no?'>>

 

'Yeah.'  

 

<<'They'll have all the names of the good babysitters.  Don't be afraid to ask for help or advice. They're your teammates.  And they've done this before. You're not doing any of this alone.'>>  Bob pushed the blanket to the side and stood up. It was high time to returned to his nice warm bed and his blissfully sleeping wife.  <<'Go to bed, son. Get some sleep. Call your husband in the morning. Gush over your baby's fingers and toes.'>> Bob yawned again, playing it up a little.  <<'Good night, Jack.'>>

 

<<"Good night, Papa…'>>


End file.
